Phase Feeding in Poultry: Matching the Feed to the Bird's Age

One bag for every age is the quiet money leak

A pullet fed like a layer from week eight will be carrying too much fat by week sixteen, and she will lay late and lay less once she starts. A broiler fed a finisher from day one grows slowly in the first week and then runs short of protein later. Both are the same mistake: one bag, one ration, every age.

Phase feeding means changing the feed as the bird changes. Each phase is formulated for the needs of a particular age, so the bird gets the protein, energy, calcium and phosphorus it needs at that point, not at a point it has already passed. The idea is simple. Making it work on your farm takes a little planning and some discipline about the switch. Before you plan any of that, our broiler chicks page and layer chicks page are a good place to check which bird you are feeding.

We have seen farms that run one feed for everything because it is easier to buy and store. Those farms usually have two problems. Their birds are uneven, and their feed bill is higher than it needs to be for the results they get. That is the part worth fixing.

What actually changes as a bird grows

In the first weeks a bird is building bone, feather and muscle quickly. Its gut is small and still learning, so it needs a diet that is dense in protein and amino acids and easy to digest. As it moves into the grower stage, growth becomes steadier, and too much protein just means the bird passes the surplus, which costs money and adds to the litter. Later on, a layer needs calcium and energy in a steady supply, and a pullet approaching lay needs her calcium handled differently from either.

Energy needs change too, and not in a straight line. A bird nearly ready for market, or a hen in full lay, has its own energy requirement and eats a different amount to match. The feed has to suit that point in the cycle, and the birds tell you when it does not, through weight, uniformity, shell quality and appetite. Our feed formulation basics explains where protein and energy come from in a mash, which helps you read a feed label with confidence.

Phases for broilers: three feeds and why

Most broiler programmes run three feeds: a starter, a grower and a finisher. The starter carries the most protein, because the first weeks are about building the frame. The grower eases the protein down while the birds put on steady weight. The finisher is cheaper per kilo and carries more energy, which helps the last kilos go on without an excess of protein the bird cannot use. Your feed supplier's label gives the exact levels for each phase, and those are what you should follow.

The switch is where most farms go wrong. Switching on a calendar date ignores how the flock is doing. Switching when the birds look ready, after you have weighed a sample, is much closer to the mark. Our starter, grower and finisher guide goes into the switching step in detail, and our broiler feeding schedule shows how the phases line up week by week. The point to take from this section is that the phases exist to match the birds, and the calendar is only a rough guide.

Phases for pullets and layers

Layers run through more phases than broilers, and the reason is the long rearing period. A pullet is reared for about sixteen to eighteen weeks before she lays, and her feed needs change a lot during that time. A starter takes her to about six weeks, when growth and feather development are the priority. A grower takes her through the long middle, when the aim is a steady frame and a body that is not too heavy. A pre-layer feed comes in shortly before she starts to lay, with more calcium to prepare the shell gland. The layer feed then supports lay, with a balance of energy, protein and calcium.

The middle phase is where pullets get spoiled. A grower on a generous ration puts on fat, and a fat pullet is harder to bring into lay evenly. Hold her back a little in the grower stage, weigh her against the breed target, and let her catch up only where she is behind.

Our layer feeding guide covers the mash in detail. Here the point is timing. A pullet switched to pre-layer too early eats calcium she does not need yet, and one switched too late may start to lay with weak shells because her calcium stores were not built in time.

Phases for free-range and local birds

Birds on free range pick up a share of their own feed from grass, insects, seeds and kitchen scraps, and that changes the sums. A local bird that forages well may need only a small amount of formulated feed. A Kuroiler on good forage may eat much less from the bag than a penned bird of the same age. Do not treat that as a reason to skip phases altogether. Feed the birds a starter when they are chicks, a grower when they are growing, and a layer ration when they lay, and adjust the amounts by watching them.

The mistake here is to assume a scavenging bird is self-sufficient. In the rains the forage can be thin for weeks, and in the harmattan the grass is dry and the insects are scarce. A bird living on scavenging alone grows slowly and lays in fits and starts. Use the feed to fill the gap, and use phases to match the feed to the bird, not to the calendar. If you keep Kuroiler or Noiler birds on range, expect the grower stage to run longer than it would in a house.

Typical protein and focus at each stage

These figures are typical examples from common tropical formulations, not a rulebook. The analysis for the feed you are actually buying is the number that counts. Use the table to check that a feed matches its job, and ask the supplier if the labels do not add up.

Switching feeds without a drop in intake

A feed change can cut intake for a couple of days if you make it badly. Birds notice a new texture, a new colour and a different smell, and some will sulk. The fix is a gradual mix. Start with about a quarter of the new feed mixed into the old, and move up over five to seven days until the birds are on the new feed alone. Keep the trough full during the mix, so the birds do not go hungry while they make up their minds.

Do not switch when the birds are stressed. A flock that has just been vaccinated, moved, or hit by heat should keep its current feed until it settles. A switch made in the middle of a stress period will be blamed on the feed when the real cause is the heat or the disease.

Write the switch date and the reason on the batch record, along with the weight of a sample of birds at the time. If weight or lay drops after a switch, you will know whether to look at the feed or somewhere else.

A worked example: what a late or early lay costs

Take a house of 200 pullets. They should reach first lay at about the week the breed guide gives, and they should lay at a steady rate once they start. Suppose a flock that was fed too rich in the grower stage comes into lay two weeks late. The farmer has paid for the feed, the house and the labour, and has lost two weeks of eggs before the first one arrives.

Use round numbers to see the scale. If the flock reaches a lay of 60 per cent once in full production, 200 pullets lay around 120 eggs a day. Two weeks late, that is about 1,680 eggs that never reach the market. At an illustrative GH₵2 an egg, the loss is about GH₵3,360, and that does not include the extra feed the late flock eats while it waits. Put your own egg price into the same sum before you decide anything.

The other side of the sum is the cost of underfeeding. A flock held too short in the grower stage can also lay late, and it can come into lay with a small frame that carries less weight over the cycle. Phase feeding is about getting the bird to the right weight at the right age, and that is where the money is. For a broader look at what a laying flock costs to feed, our feed intake guide works through the numbers by age.

How to know a switch is early or late

Weight and uniformity tell you more than the calendar. Each week during rearing, weigh a random sample of ten birds from several places in the house, and compare the average with the breed target. Look at the spread as well. A tightly grouped flock is ready for a change. A flock with a long tail of small birds may need its current feed for longer, or better management, not a fancier feed.

For layers, watch body condition as well as weight. Feel the breastbone. A pullet with a sharp keel and a little muscle over it is in good shape. One with a lot of soft fat over the breast and belly is carrying too much, and the feed is the first place to look.

Signs of an early switch are birds too heavy at point of lay and eggs that start large and stay large. Signs of a late switch are a late start to lay, weak shells, and a laying rate that falls away early in the cycle.

Phase feeding through Ghana's seasons

Heat and dust change how much birds eat, and that changes which phase suits the flock. In the hot part of the year, intake drops, so the feed has to pack more protein and energy into each mouthful. Plenty of farms keep the same feed through the heat, which means their birds eat less of what they paid for. A move to a denser phase, or a shift in the timing of the switch, can help. Check with your supplier before you do, because a denser feed has its own cost.

In the harmattan, birds eat more in the cold early mornings and at night, and dust in the house can put them off the trough at midday. The same feed can look right in November and wrong in January, so do not set your phase dates in stone. Weigh the flock and adjust.

In the rains, the risk is damp feed. Check any phase feed in store for mould before a switch, and bring in only what you can use within a few weeks. Old feed that has taken on moisture loses both its quality and its appeal to the birds.

Mistakes we see on farms

Switching by date is the first. It is easy to put on a calendar, and easy to forget that the flock is three days behind or two days ahead. Use the weight sample as the decider.

Leaving the old feed in the bin is the second. The birds eat from whatever is in front of them, so a grower bin left half full beside a new starter bin means the birds get an unplanned mix of both. Empty the old feed, or at least clear the trough before the switch.

Layer feed for pullets is the third. It is cheaper to buy one bag, but it costs you in weight and in late lay. If you do not have the phase feed, ask your supplier for a grower, and buy the pre-lay in good time.

Trusting a store-brand phase feed without reading it is the fourth. Two feeds with the same name can carry different protein figures. Read the analysis on each bag before you put it in front of the birds.

A checklist for each phase switch

Run through this before every switch, and write the answers down.

1. Weight sample taken, with the average and spread recorded against the breed target.
2. The flock is healthy and not stressed by vaccination, heat or a move.
3. The new feed analysis is read, with protein and calcium checked against the stage.
4. Stock of the old feed is checked for mould, and the old feed is cleared from the trough.
5. A mix plan is written: the share of new feed for each of the next five to seven days.
6. The trough is kept full and the water is checked during the switch week.
7. Intake, weight and lay are noted at the end of the first week after the change.

If you need a second opinion on the timing before a switch, our questions page is a good starting point, or you can WhatsApp us on +233 24 915 1503.

Questions farmers ask